Florida settles with a hotel over ‘Drag Queen Christmas’

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Drag artists in Gulfport, FL at an LGBTQ Pride event. By Seán Kinane/WMNF News (June 1, 2023).

©2023 The News Service of Florida

State regulators and the Hyatt Regency Miami have settled a dispute about minors attending an event last year titled “A Drag Show Christmas.”

Regulators threatened to revoke the hotel’s liquor license, and the dispute helped lead to the Legislature passing a law this spring aimed at preventing minors from attending drag shows.

Under the settlement, known as a consent order, the Hyatt Regency Miami agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and to prevent minors from attending performances at a facility known as the James L. Knight Center if such a performance “contains, depicts or simulates” activities targeted in the new law.

The consent order said the hotel “admits no liability by settling” the dispute.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation announced the settlement Wednesday.

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the new law, saying it violates First Amendment rights.

The state has appealed the injunction to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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